


Real

by beehoony



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 20:36:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3909775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beehoony/pseuds/beehoony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How did he know that this was real and not a desire demon's trap?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Real

He knows it's real when the first letter from her after they move to Skyhold is a playful complaint (To the commander of the Inquisition, this one must express great dissatisfaction with the digestive tracts of your equine agents...), accompanied by a childlike sketch and a conclusion that she didn't  _really_  want to walk all that way. 

He knows it when Jim comes along, waving that report just as he was about kiss her and she tells him that he should go, but instead he stays.

He knows it when the only person he looks for in the crowd at the Winter Palace is her, austere in black silk, a singular silhouette among the big hoop skirts and lace and masks. She leaves her face uncovered; so does he. Every time their eyes meet across the hall, he knows that he cannot hide what he feels despite Leliana's coaching.

He knows it when he cannot find the words to describe her lips on his, his hands on her. When all he can say is that he loves her and she teasingly reminds him that she was the first one to say it before laughing. He repeats it a thousand times over (to make up for that, see?) and she replies in kind.

He knows it when he wakes and all he can see is the mass of her dark hair, peeping out from under an enormous stack of blankets (no wonder he always woke early, feeling rather too warm). The fear always clenches his gut, for that was her after Haven, being warmed under blankets and furs while he watched until he could bear it no more.

He knows it when she rolls over and kicks him in her sleep, usually rousing enough to mutter a slurred apology before her breathing settles again. 

He knows it when he prays for her, again and again when she goes missing, when all he is a man in love, with no power to know whether she is alive or dead. 

He says it to her one night when she is secure within the circle of his arms, his face buried in her hair. "It's real because your hair gets everywhere." 

She obligingly swept it aside as best she can. "Of course, putting your face elsewhere would help. And what do you mean it's real?"

"Since the Fereldan Circle. The desire demons did...things to me there. I haven't been close to anyone since. I didn't want anyone in my life. How could I tell if it was real or just a demon's trap?"

She rolled over and snuggled into the crook of his shoulder. "Here's a tip. The demons haven't worked out the necessity of toilets yet. Case in point: Cole."

He laughed as he pressed his lips to her head. "Well, in that case, I've definitely seen enough to know that you're real."

She propped herself up on his chest. "In all seriousness, you've been through a lot. Thank you for letting me be in your life." She laid a cool hand--the one without the Anchor--on his cheek. "It can't be easy."

"I've never wanted anything more," he whispered. 

Her fingers trailed towards the scar on his lip, dark eyes sad. "Cullen, if I don't survive this--"

"Don't. I've said before, I can't. I just--"

She leaned over and kissed him on the mouth, soft and sweet. "You will live and love again. You will find happiness." 

"Evie--"

"All I want, above all else, is for you to be happy. Always remember that."

He loses himself in her then, in the truth of them.


End file.
